Thinking Outside the Box : Germany Promotes its Creative Minds
‘Creative Germany’ is the German National Tourist Board’s 2010 banner to promote Germany worldwide as inspiring travel destination. ” Traditionally, Germany has been known as the country of composers, poets and philosophers,” explains Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB. Still a zeitgeist frontrunner, Germany continues to set trends today, producing innovative ideas and internationally relevant contemporary art. States Hedorfer, “It is precisely this wealth of creativity we want to promote with our motto for the coming year.”
Original and innovative ideas form and prosper mainly within the arts and creative industries, and they do more than merely enhance Germany’s image: they represent the latest economic growth sector. “We want to embrace this creative spirit to generate further tourism potential,” says Hedorfer.
The GNTB’s ‘Creative Germany’ theme focuses on architecture, art, design and fashion, all fields where new thought and talent have emerged abundantly in recent years, and where it is easy for visitors to sample some of Germany’s best creative juices.
Take architecture. The arresting designs of the country’s recently built car museums, for example, and Berlin’s many new landmarks – mostly noted by the Reichstag and the Jewish Museum — have already proven themselves. But visitors should also fall for such architectural gems as the Fünf Höfe shopping centre in Munich, designed by Herzog & De Meuron, or the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, by the same firm of architects, which became a tourist draw even while under construction.
Fashion-minded visitors can revel in the latest creations from innovative German labels — Wunderkind, c.neeon and TalkingMeansTrouble, for example.
Fashion shows, such as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, and such flagship trade fairs for the interior design industry as ‘imm’ in Cologne are catalysts for new trends.
Germany’s varied and contemporary gallery scene regularly promotes up-and-coming artists along with the work of established young stars of the art world. The Berlin Biennale’s top arts curators, for example, will again launch new artistic talent in spring 2010 in various venues across Germany’s capital.
The urban environment inspires such designers as 45 Kilo, from Weimar, Sebastian Herkner, from Frankfurt, and Studio Aisslinger, from Berlin.
Berlin’s Kreuzberg district or Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel area have long come of age and developed into fashionable places with alternative vibes -‘ musts’ on the itinerary of every city slicker, be they young or young at heart.
For information on other innovative venues, events and locations presenting cutting-edge creative ideas and products, and for general travel information on Germany, please visit www.germany.travel
January 25, 2010
Posted in: Germany